by C. William White

Created on: March 13, 2010

For many people interested in archery hunting, the early bow seasons for most states provide them with an opportunity to harvest game before the gun season comes along with generally more noise and competition for the same animals.  The following are some tips to help harvest pre-rut deer.

What is the pre-rut?

For deer, the period leading up to the mating season (called the rut) is controlled by the decreasing amounts of sunlight in a day.  As daylight decreases, hormonal changes begin to occur in both does and bucks.  Deer activity increases overall with more daylight movement and nighttime crossing of roads as buck seek out a way to satisfy their mounting urges.

Why is it a good time for hunting whitetail deer?

Pre-rut allows the hunter to zero in on places where he is likely to harvest a buck.  All buck deer have a bedding area, a feeding area, and with the advent of the pre-rut season, a place to find does with which to mate.  In short, deer are restless in anticipation of the mating season.  They not only run early season food trails, but also new trails to check out does and younger bucks that may be a challenge during the rut.

Signs of the pre-rut

Bucks begin to free themselves of preseason antler velvet by vigorously rubbing and slashing at small saplings. This is also “practice” for the head to head jousts that occur during the rut.  These instances are called rubs and play a significant part of pre-rut strategy.  Rubs indicate that a verified antlered deer has come to call.  Bucks also tend to become more territorial and create scrapes, which are pawed areas where the forest floor is scraped bare, after which the buck urinates on it to mark his area.

Tactics

Pre-rut hunting can be successful via still hunting or stand hunting.  No matter which you choose always be cognizant of wind direction in relationship to where the deer are.  Camouflage clothing is a must and should be laundered in baking soda or commercially available non-scent detergent to keep human scent down.

As mentioned before, bucks have a bedding area that is usually the gnarliest terrain around.  It is not necessary to hunt them into their lair, as most of the time the foliage is so thick a bowhunting shot would be impossible.  Scrapes are most commonly visited by the buck during the nighttime hours, as shown by studies, so these are more indicators of buck activity in the vicinity rather than a hunting location.  Rubs, however, are generally made in a line into or out of the buck’s bedding ground or feeding area and can be staked out for a shot.  In other words, locate rubs and set up accordingly (15-20 yards away).

By knowing a little bit about deer during the pre-rut, hopefully your chances for success will increase during the hunting season.

Learn more about this author, C. William White.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.